Abstract

SANTOS, Katia; MORE, Carmen Leontina Ojeda Ocampo; KRENKEL, Scheila  and  CZELUSNIAK, Caroline Boaventura. Meanings, motivations, and signs of suicidal behavior in adolescence. Rev. Subj. [online]. 2023, vol.23, n.3, e13309.  Epub Jan 26, 2026. ISSN 2359-0769.  https://doi.org/10.5020/23590777.rs.v23i3.e13309.

This qualitative study aimed to understand the meanings, motivations, and signs attributed to suicidal behavior from the perspective of high school students at a public school in the southern region of Brazil. Fifteen teenagers, six women and nine men aged between 16 and 17 participated in this study. The Focus Group Technique and the Mentimeter digital resource were used for data collection. Data organization and analysis were based on Grounded Theory, with the help of Atlas.TI 8.4.15 software. In terms of results, it can be pointed out that the construction of meanings and motivations for suicidal behavior resulted from family, school, friends, media, and digital social network experiences. The signs related to suicidal behavior from the adolescents researched were social isolation, stopping hobbies, low self-esteem, lack of motivation and silence, talking a lot about the subject, self-harm, negative thinking, and strange behaviors. In this sense, this research showed that the recognition of signs is crossed by the meanings and motivations that are attributed to suicidal behavior and are based on the social-historical-relational construction. It concludes with the need to intertwine all contexts involved in the adolescent development process: school, community, family, friends, digital networks, and health professionals, from the perspective of the expanded and integrative clinic.

Keywords : suicidal behavior; meanings; signs; suicide; adolescents.

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